From the courtyard you can move on in many different directions. We chose the nearest gate and there we saw a small, contemporary part of the cemetery with ordinary graves - nothing really special. We have read somewhere that San Michele is supposed to be the resting place for the Venetians only for 10 years. After that time the ashes are moved to some other cemeteries. You know - the space, or rather lack of it. But the truth is that we found quite a lot of contemporary graves that were more than ten years old.

Venice is different. No doubt about it. There is no other so famous a city constructed on wooden piles, surrounded by water, crossed by many canals and so full of beautiful buildings and charming places.

After a while you get used to the thought that Venice is exceptional. By that I definitely don't mean you get bored with Venice. Far from that! You just simply take for granted that you are supposed to encounter something special every minute of your stay there.

Nevertheless, there happened to be quite a few things that either amused us, astonished or surprised in Venice, even though we thought were truly prepared for anything out of the ordinary there. Let me show you some of them.

The cost of travelling by gondola is high but it's worth it. Don't listen to anybody who'll tell you that you can see and experience the same from a vaporetto. A vaporetto is a great means of communication in Venice, but far from being a romantic one. First of all, a gondola is quiet (unless the gondolier attempts to sing;-) Besides, a vaporetto cannot move in the narrow canals and that's the very beauty of the trip to see the heart of the city, something more than Canale Grande. I said narrow canals. Sometimes they are really so narrow that the gondolier has to use his leg to avoid crashing into the walls!

When preparing for the trip from Venice to Torcello take into account the time needed for the trip itself (about 1 hour from Fondamente Nuove to Torcello, changing the vaporetto on Burano), the opening hours of the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta with the bell tower, the Santa Fosca Church and the archaeological museum.
A vaporetto gives you an opportunity to reach Torcello while experiencing breathtaking views of the lagoon of Venice and some aspects of the life of the local inhabitants.